SHAFTER, Calif. (KERO) — Rebecca Bernal grew up in Shafter before venturing out into the professional space. With experience under her belt, she hopes to continue to bolster the city's commitment to the community.
- Rebecca Bernal started with the City of Shafter's Library and Learning Center in late September as the Community Services Supervisor. She joins the city staff for the second time after working for Wonderful's College Prep Academy.
- Bernal said she feels she's in a unique position to help the Library and Learning Center continue to benefit the community because of her experience in the professional space, and her experience growing up in Shafter.
- The Shafter Library and Learning Center is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As the busy summer for the Shafter Library and Learning Center winds down, the city welcomed a new employee to continue bolstering the center's commitment to education and community engagement.
I'm Sam Hoyle, your Shafter Neighborhood reporter, though, for Rebecca Bernal, it's more of a homecoming, than a new job.
Rebecca Bernal was raised in Shafter, graduated from Shafter High School, worked for the city as an intern... graduated from UCLA, and entered the Library and Learning Center after a few years of working for the Wonderful College Prep Academy.
For Bernal, she feels that what she learned through her time in the professional space and what she knows from growing up in the Shafter area, gives her a unique perspective to help the community she's come to love.
"I know a lot about our community, and I know just having been a student here myself, a lot of what the needs are, so I was excited to use the knowledge that I had gained and also the knowledge that I already had about our community to be able to bring that back and help continue to build the resources that we have."
In the meantime, Bernal says the city is still brainstorming on how to best impact the community through the Library and Learning Center.
"We're brainstorming. I think we want to get more input and see what's needed and what will work. But yeah, I think just bringing the community downtown, especially seeing how we can get them there more often, and how we can help just kind of diversify what's offered right now."
But Bernal did say she hopes to get the community involved in the process of making Shafter a better place when it comes to the library and learning center.
"I hope to be able to learn and get feedback from what the community thinks is working and what they would like to see. I know we're working on a lot of events to bring the community downtown so continuing to get feedback from the community and put on more events that bring additional resources to them."
Bernal officially started with the Library and Learning Center in late September, and the Center is open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 7 pm.
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